Chapter 1

I stare at all the feet of everyone passing me. Slowly I look down to mine. They are all the same. Black. Covered in dirt. Ash. Leaves. Dry and hard. Calloused by the heat and cold. This is my normal. This is their normal. I stare blankly. Examining every detail of my foot.

Suddenly a ringing pain shoots across my head. I fall to the floor. Staggering up as fast as I can.

"Pay attention you worthless flea written pest!" Mother shouts

Still dazed from her hit I managed to speak "yes sorry mother."

"I am not your mother! For the last time I have one child! And only one child!" She motions to Jerica.

"Here hold these slave!" Jerica hands me shopping bags and other things they have purchased.

I stay quiet. Afraid of another blow to the head from mother. I look down at their feet. They have shoes on. Nice blue and gold sandals. Here surrounded by the lower class, they stand out. Mother likes shopping here. They make good things cheap. She also feels like a superstar. At least that's what she tells Jerica.

We walk towards the check point. The guards laugh with mother as they check their picture cards. They never check my picture card. Do I even have a picture card? I put the things into the back of their car.

"Abi we will see you at the house. And don't be late again!" Jerica smirks

They drive away as I run behind. Going through the alley ways. Over rocks and through bushes. By the time I reached the house mother is outside. She looks angry.

"You ought to be faster then that! Now get back to the yard!"

"Yes mother"

Mother winces. She hates when I call her mother. I don't know why. Jerica calls her mother all the time.

I walk to the back yard. Mother is good to me. I think to myself. She didn't hit me this time. Mother provides me with many things most kids my age don't have. Like my little house in the yard. Every morning I get two can foods for the day. D-O-G food. Mother says it's French. I don't know how to read much so I'm sure she is right. I have a hose I can use throughout the day. But only for drinking. Mother has reminded me every day how well I am taken care of. At least I'm not in the hands of those terrible rebels everyone talks about.

I love living with Mother, Father, and Jerica. Even though I don't see Father ever. Except in the window mirror sometimes. But even in this wonderful home, I sometimes sneak out.

Once everyone is asleep in the big house, I leave through the back gate. Quietly I sneak past the patrol guards. Through the bushes, so the big light doesn't see me. Last through a hole in the lower sectors gate.

I sneak into the woods where I meet up with my best friend!

"Bazil!!" I yell as I hug her. She smells of lavender.

"Abi! It's great to see you again!"

"I had a great day at the market with mother today!"

Bazils face turns sour. "Oh really? Are you sure?"

"Yes! Today I was only bad once! So only once punishment. And even though I was late to the house after shopping, mother didn't even hit me!" I smile in reassurance.

Bazil shakes her head. Slowly she just hugs me again. "What am I to do with you?"

"How was your day Bazil?"

We sat next to our favorite tree as we talked. Bazil always had amazing stories. She was also clean too. She also had shoes like mother. I think it's because Bazil takes baths. I've never had a bath. Mother doesn't allow it. Bazil has offered to give me one, but I don't want to disobey mother.

Bazil doesn't like mother. She says I can run away and stay with her. But I am safe with mother. She takes care of me.

"We are having a full moon party in two days, do you think you could join?"

"Yes I'll bring mother and Jerica!"

"No! It's a secret party at night. You mustn't tell anyone"

"Oh okay. I will come still. But I want you to meet mother one day. Maybe you will like her if you meet her."

"Maybe" Bazil sighs

As I get home I go into my tiny house. I lay in the golden hair on the floor. Then I use my fluffy hair as a pillow. Looking up at the sky I count all the stars before I fall asleep.

"Hello?"

Everything is dark. I walk towards a faint fire light in the distance. Where am I? Is this a dream? It feels real. The closer I get, I can make out two figures. There's a woman. with a very round belly? And a man holding her from behind. They seem so happy. So peaceful. I've never felt so much happiness. Actually it's to bright! My eyes!

I open my eyes to a bright sun.

"Oh. It was a dream."

Getting up I dust myself off. It's always beautiful outside. My favorite part of my day is saying hello to Emily. She's a lizard. I keep her hidden by the back gate because mother would kill her.

"Hello Emily, good morning" I say as I fill up a little cap with water for her.

Emily sits her head up and crawls along my arm. Nestled on my chin. Then goes to her water.

Since it's the fifth sun rise this week, there is no shopping. So I have no need to leave the yard. Every one should be getting up soon. I always wake up first because the sun greats me first. Jerica has school today again. Mother will be at a meeting probably. Then father goes to the upper section to work in the office. I don't know exactly what mother or father does but they seem happy.

Jerica use to come home and teach me what she learned. But that was when we were younger. She would also sneak me waffles when it was waffle day. Thinking back we use to have so much fun.

"Hey Abi!!!" Jerica bounds through the front gate from her bus. "Guess what!"

"What?" I ask

"Today we learned about veggies!" She giggles "and your dress says potato on it!"

"What's a po…poTATo?" I tried my best to copy how she said it.

"It's a brown food! A lot of people like them!" Her face lit up with a smile "that's probably why mom gave you that dress! It's probably an awesome brand.. POTATO SACK!"

I smile wide. I was given something so awesome by mother. She really liked me.

"I got to go inside now. But I'll come back tomorrow Abi and teach you some more words!" She ran up the steps and went inside the big glass door.

She use to teach me a lot of words. She even taught me when my birthday was. I believe it's tomorrow. I've been counting the suns and moons since the last one. I've learned a lot from Jerica. But when we were eight years old , she stopped coming back here. I once heard Mother taking to her. She told Jerica that it's not good to socialize with me or she will be treated like me. Whatever that means.

I'll be eighteen tomorrow. I'm not expecting anything really. I've only received one gift in my life. It was the only thing gifted to me. It's also the only thing that makes me different from mother and them. It's special. Only mine.

When I was five I discovered that I could make fire out my hand. I could also spit it out my mouth. It was a pretty purple fire. Sometimes it was blue, but it was mostly purple. I was so excited that I told mother about it! That night some pointy ear blonde guy in a suit came over. He asked me to show him what I showed mother. I did. Then he pulled out this black belt necklace thing. He held it in his hand.

"What's your name child?" He smiled down at me. His smile was warm.

"Abigor!" I smiled "but I'm mostly called Abi"

He then whispered some weird words. Opening his hands, I saw my name on the belt thing. He handed it to me.

"This is yours and only yours Abi, you wear it around your neck." He gestured

"Oh thank you I love it!!"

Quickly I put it on my neck.

Ever since then I haven't been able to make fire. But I haven't worried about that because I had something of mine. Only mine.

Throughout the day I work on the yard. I make the flowers pretty. I water the grass. Cut and remove the weeds. It's all I can do since I'm not allowed inside the big house. I'm basically invisible here. No one really pays any attention to me. But that's alright. I'm not clean like Mother and the others. So they probably just don't see me here.

Just one more day. I think to myself. Just one more day until the party. I've never been to a full moon party. I wonder if it's like a birthday party! But for the moon. Will there be cake? I wonder if they will have that weird horse beating ritual Jerica told me about? Apparently horses have candy inside. I wonder if they are related to unicorns? Do unicorns have candy inside? Or is it just horses? Also what's a horse?

"What you thinking about?"

I jump.

"Are you. um are you talking to me?" I spoke quietly looking up at Jerica.

"You're the only one here silly!" She giggles lightly

"Oh uh about horses and unicorns..and birthdays."

"That's right! It's your birthday tomorrow!!"

"Yeah.."

"Do you have anything planned?"

"Just be here"

"Right..you can't leave I forgot." Jerica looked puzzled. "Wait right here!"

I waited as she ran into the big house. When she came back, she was holding a blue sparkly dress.

"Here an early present you can have"

"Won't mother get mad?"

"Nah I haven't worn that dress in months. You can have it"

As I reached for it she tugged it back. I looked at her confused.

"But first you would need to tell me a secret" she smirked

"Oh..umm." Should I tell her about the full moon party? Bazil said it was a secret. She said not to tell anyone. What if I tell her but not where it's at?

"Im going to a full moon party on the seventh moon rise."

Jerica looked at me with a calm face. She handed me the dress. Smiling "that's a big secret! I promise not to tell anyone! I hope you have fun! Sister."

I beamed with joy "oh thank you sister thank you thank you!"

Once Jerica went into the big house, I took the dress and hid it in my favorite tree hole. I've never had anything but this brown dress before. I was so excited to show Bazil at the party! It will be so amazing.